Browse Items (993 total)
- Collection: Chester Smolski Photographs
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Public Housing Woonsocket Veteran’s Memorial
The Veterans Memorial public housing project in Woonsocket provides housing designed for the elderly, but also with amenities for low-income families, including an after school tutoring program and playground.
Public Housing- Roger Williams South Providence
The Roger Williams Housing Project was built in 1943 to address housing issues for the low-income residents of Providence. The project was considered a success for the first fifteen years of its existence, with a strong residents association and…
Public Housing- Woonsocket Morin Heights
The Morin Heights Public Housing Development located on Morin Heights Boulevard in Woonsocket, Rhode Island. The housing development was designed for low-income families. The development was established by the Woonsocket Housing Authority in 1940.…
Quaker War Protesters at the White House
Quakers sit in protest of the Vietnam War outside of the north portico of the White House. Although the Quakers had a long history of promoting peace, it was not until Clarence Pickett of the American Society of Friends founded the National Committee…
Queensboro Bridge from Roosevelt Island
Roosevelt Island is located between Manhattan and Queens in the East River. The Queensboro Bridge crosses over the island, pictured at the left of the photo. Roosevelt Island has had many names over the years and once served as grounds for a state…
Quincy Market
Faneuil Hall in Boston was expanded in 1826 to include Quincy Market, which was designed in the Greek Revival Style and later named after Major Josiah Quincy. The market became run-down in the mid 1900's, but was revitalized by Jim Rouse, architect…
Qumran: Caves where the Dead Sea Scrolls were Discovered
In 1947 a group of Bedouin shepherds happened upon what would be known as the Dead Sea Scrolls. Between 1947 and 1956 both the Bedouin and archaeologists performed a comprehensive search of eleven caves in Qumran, which resulted in the recovery of…
Qumran: Location of Dead Sea Scrolls, Cave 4
Discovered in August of 1952, Cave 4 is located just a couple hundred feet from the ruins at Khirbet Qumran. It was discovered by a Ta’amireh Bedouin tribesman pursuing a partridge. Cave 4 has been the location for the greatest number scroll…
Qumran: Water Channel ad Cave Entrance, Dead Sea Scrolls Area
This photograph was taken in Qumran, the area where in 1947 (or late 1946) the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered by three Bedouin shepherds. The caves are located about eight miles south of Jericho, in present day Israel. In this picture a sign can…
Radburn: Children in Street
On this slide Smolski notes “Radburn Plan separated streets & pedestrians, children don’t play in streets?” Radburn, a planned community, makes extensive provisions for walkways and public lands that are separate from motor ways. In this context,…
Radburn: Cul-de-sac
Drawing influence from England’s Garden Cities, the planners of Radburn separated streets for motor vehicles from pedestrian routes. To encourage pedestrian traffic, and to create harmony between residents and nature, the rear of the houses face the…
Radburn: Entrance in Fair Lawn, NJ
Radburn is a planned community in New Jersey that was influenced by England’s Garden Cities. It was founded in 1929. Ironically it was billed as, “a town for the motor age,” but modern vehicles, and families owning multiple vehicles were not…
Radburn: Howard Ave & Brearly Crescent
Radburn, a planned community that was founded in 1929, was based on England’s Garden Cities. This photograph was taken on Howard Ave, named for Sir Ebeneezer Howard, whose 1898 publication Garden Cities of To-morrow influenced urban planners to…
Radburn: Parks, Planned Community
Radburn, a planned community in New Jersey, has over 23 acres of parks within it’s boundaries. The planners felt that with this much open space, residents wouldn’t need large yards, and therefore the homes are very close together, and relatively…
Radburn: Pedestrian Roads
Radburn is a unique planned community that separates motorized transportation from pedestrian traffic. In this 1979 photograph Smolski shows a section of the pedestrian road that passes a swimming pool. Radburn was influenced by England’s Garden…
Radburn: Planned Community Baseball Field
Radburn is a planned community founded in 1929. It was designed to separate traffic by mode, utilizing a pedestrian path system that does not cross any major road. Radburn has 23 acres of interior parks, including this hardball field, one of three…
Radburn: Walkway Entrance
The entrance to one of Radburn’s walkways is shown in this 1970 photograph. The use of walkway’s separates pedestrian traffic from motorized traffic, and has had energy saving consequences, encouraging residents to walk for local travel rather than…
Radburn: Walkways and Public Parks
Radburn, a planned community inspired by England’s Garden Cities, emphasized common areas, like this walkway and park, and allocated a minimal amount of land to individual homes. While walkways may have had some environmental impact by encouraging…
Radburn: Walkways, Pedestrian Traffic
A planned community in Fair Lawn, New Jersey, Radburn has a system of walkways to encourage pedestrian traffic. This 1979 photograph shows walkways in use on a rainy afternoon. The fronts of homes in Radburn face the walkways, while the backs are on…
Radburn: Walkways, Planned Community
The planners of Radburn, influenced by England’s Garden Cities, intended pedestrian walkways to be the main method of transportation. This is illustrated in this 1970 photograph showing the front of a home in Radburn facing one of the walkways. The…
Randal Square Mills After Fire (1971)
Fire damaged mills in Randall Square.
Plans to redevelop the space date back to 1964, but before redevelopment could begin the square was mostly destroyed by fire in 1971.
Randall Square - State House & Public Health Building
General wasteland of Randall Square before renewal. St. Patrick’s Church can be seen in the left near the State House, and the Armenian Church is on the extreme right. Also of note are the triple-deckers to the west which were once part of…
Randall Square Mills after Fire
Randall Square was a site of dense industrial complexes which included these mills that were destroyed. Most of the land in this area was either underused or vacant much like many lands in Providence during the late 1960
Randall Square Redevelopment
Randall Square before renewal. Plans for redevelopment had begun in 1964, however before these plans were put into action a fire destroyed much of the area in 1971.
Randall Square Synagogue
This synagogue was demolished as part of a large land clearing in order to make room for light manufacturing, commercial development and the Marriott Hotel.
Randall Square, Providence: Midway Bar
This is the old Bull Dog Tavern built in 1798. This tavern may have given the name to the area as Bull Dog Square, later Randall Square. It survived the fire that took the American Screw Company in July 1971. Richard Smith of Smithfield, RI took up…
Ray, Aerial Photography Pilot
Ray, the pilot who flew for (at least some of) Smolski's aerial photography.
Redevelopment of Randall Square
Randall Sqare in the midst of its redevelopment after it was demolished in 1971 as part of a large land clearing in order to make room for light manufacturing, commercial development and the Marriott Hotel.
Rehovot: Chaim and Vera Weizmann Grave
After Israel was recognized as a country by the US, Chaim Weizmann was chosen to serve as the country’s first President. He was elected in February of 1949 and served as Israel’s President until his death in 1952. It was in April of 1949 that he…
Rehovot: Koffler Accelerator at the Weizmann Institute of Science
The Koffler Accelerator, completed in 1976, was built to study atomic particles. The design by Moshe Harel joins two towers, one which houses the particle accelerator, and the other which has a winding staircase (shown) and the building cables,…
Rehovot: Main Gate at the Weizmann Institute of Science
This photograph shows the main gate at the Weizmann Institute of Science. The university was established in 1935 by Dr. Chaim Weizmann as the Daniel Sieff Research institute. On Dr. Weizmann’s 75th birthday in 1949, the university was renamed his…
Rehovot: Memorial to the Holocaust at the Weizmann Institute of Science
The Memorial to the Holocaust at the Wizmann Institute of Science was designed by Israeli sculptor Dani Karavan. The site is a plaza with a split torah sculpted in the center. The torah sculpture is insrcibed with numbers, perhaps alluding to the…
Rehovot: Memorial to the Holocaust at the Weizmann Institute of Science
This photograph shows Dani Karavan’s 1972 Memorial to the Holocaust. The sculpture, which is a large torah scroll split and inscribed with numbers, is installed at the Weizmann Institute of Science. It is the center piece of a plaza on campus.
Rehovot: Memorial to the Holocaust Plaza at the Weizmann Institute of Science
The Memorial to the Holocaust Plaza was designed by Israeli sculptor Dani Karavan and completed in 1972. It is a memorial plaza at the the Weizmann Institute of Science, the center piece of which is a bronze and stone sculpture representing a torah…
Rehovot: Memorial to the Holocaust Plaza at the Weizmann Institute of Science
The Memorial to the Holocaust Plaza was designed by Israeli sculptor Dani Karavan and completed in 1972. It is a memorial plaza at the the Weizmann Institute of Science, the center piece of which is a bronze and stone sculpture representing a torah…
Rehovot: Weizmann House
Pictured is a side view of the famous Weizmann House in Rehovot, Israel. It was built for the first president of Israel, Chaim Weizmann and his wife and has since been the official home of the country’s presidents. The house was designed with the…
Rehovot: Weizmann House
Designed by Erich Mendelsohn, the Weizmann house was built in 1936 as a private home for Dr. Chaim Weizmann and his wife Dr. Vera Weizmann. Both being scientists, they chose to build their home next to the Daniel Sieff Research Institute, which is…
Renter Occupied Housing Units 1980 - Providence
37,968 renter occupied housing units by census tract, Providence 1980. Key (in hundreds): white is less than 7.0; horizontal lined represents 7.0-10.5; diagonal lined is 10.5-14.0; and black is more than 14.0.
Residential Development in Worcester, MA
A residential area in Worcester, MA. An example of urban development and growth in Worcester's single family and duplex dwellings.
Reston: United States Geological Survey
The US Geological Survey building in Reston was specially designed for the agencies purposes and opened in 1973. Previously headquarters had been in Washington, D.C.
The agency was established in 1879 after a report from the National Academy of…
Rhode Island College (Aerial)
An aerial shot overlooking the Rhode Island College campus on Mount Pleasant Avenue in North Providence as well as its surroundings, such as the Triggs Memorial Golf Course and Pleasant View School. The college campus moved to this particular spot in…
Rhode Island College (Aerial)
An aerial shot overlooking the Rhode Island College campus on Mount Pleasant Avenue in North Providence as well as its surroundings, such as the Triggs Memorial Golf Course and Pleasant View School. The college campus moved to this particular spot in…
Rhode Island College and Surrounding Neighborhoods (Aerial)
An aerial shot overlooking the Rhode Island College campus on Mount Pleasant Avenue in Providence as well as its surroundings, such as the Triggs Memorial Golf Course and Pleasant View School. The college campus moved to this particular spot in 1958,…
Rhode Island Heritage Festival at State House
11th Annual Rhode Island Heritage Festival, 1988, photographed at the Rhode Island State House.
Rhode Island Independent Man
The “Independent Man” was first proposed to be a statue of Roger Williams at the annual meeting of the Rhode Island Historical Society in 1895. The statue, to be placed atop the proposed new State House, was designed by George T. Brewster for…
Rhode Island Independent Man
On 20 July 1976 the “Independent Man” statue, which sits atop the Rhode Island State House, was returned after spending a year being repaired and receiving a new coat of gold leaf. He also spent some of that time at the Warwick shopping mall. This…
Rhode Island State House
The Rhode Island State House was built in 1904, designed by McKim, Mead & White. The building's self-supporting marble dome is the fourth-largest of its kind in the world, following after only the Taj Mahal, St. Peter's Basilica, and the Minnesota…
Rhode Island State House and Providence Station
In 1986, the current Providence Station (shown here) was built to replace the 1898 station, as part of a redevelopment project to free up land from a mass of train tracks that had hemmed in downtown Providence. It is much smaller than its…
Rhode Island State House from Prospect Terrace Park
The Rhode Island State House is made up of 327,000 cubic feet (9,300 m3) of white Georgia marble, 15 million bricks, and 1,309 short tons (1,188 t) of iron floor beams (wikipedia). The dome is currently the fourth largest self-supporting stone dome…
Rhode Island State House from Prospect Terrace Park
The Rhode Island State House is made up of 327,000 cubic feet (9,300 m3) of white Georgia marble, 15 million bricks, and 1,309 short tons (1,188 t) of iron floor beams (wikipedia). The dome is currently the fourth largest self-supporting stone dome…